Giving Up On Dreams
by marauder23
Summary: War, deceit, and lies poisoned everything and the laughter that once rang through the halls of the prestigious school of Hogwarts was now stifled or forced.' And one night Ginny Weasley can't sleep...


_A/N: Hello all, it's been terribly to long. Anyway, I wrote this after talking with Elizabeth90 (go read her stuff she is EXCELLENT) and I hope you all enjoy it. Just a small H/G snippet. Please read and review._

**Giving Up On Dreams**

So many things had changed. Over the years, so much had happened and there wasn't a person who remained unaffected. What was one to do now? There was no one left to go to. There was nothing left to do. War, deceit, and lies poisoned everything and the laughter that once rang through the halls of the prestigious school of Hogwarts was now stifled or forced. There was always a coldness muffling all that was once so alive with love, laughter, and life.

And so, after another night of thrashing sleeplessly in her four poster bed, Ginny sighed in annoyance and got up not so quietly. Her housemates still didn't wake up as her feet padded over the creaky floorboards towards the door. She didn't bother to dress as she quickly headed down the girls' staircase to the common room in her pajamas.

The fire smoldered although it was nothing compared to the sizeable blaze that had been going on earlier that night. She paused in front of the fire and took in its warmth and comfort as she slowly unlocked her gaze from the crackling coals and made her way over to the soft and inviting couch. Once she sank down into the cushy scarlet sofa she had the sudden (almost overcoming) urge to write. Just write out all her thoughts, her fears, her hopes, her dreams… everything. But she couldn't do that. Not anymore. Not after the diary.

She shuddered as the image of the neat precise cursive of Tom Riddle came back to her for what seemed like the hundredth time. In a way he'd ruined her. The Ginny Weasley who had told all her innermost secrets to a stranger was gone. Sweet, innocent, shy, trusting Ginny was gone. She supposed in a way that was good, but now that she wanted to write her feelings down she couldn't. And she certainly didn't have anyone to tell them to because who would listen to little Ginny anyway? No one.

A small noise sounded from the boys' staircase and Ginny turned to see what it was. No one was in sight, however, so she called out softly, "Who's there?" Just when she was about to dismiss the squeak as Crookshanks a boy with messy black hair and dazzling green eyes came from round the corner. He smiled a small broken smile and wearily sat down next to her on the couch.

"Can't sleep, eh?" she said not taking her eyes off the glowing coals. He stared at the fire's grate as well, but when she spoke he slowly turned to face her and said in a voice just above a whisper, "No I couldn't. I was too busy… thinking."

Ginny was tempted to ask what he was thinking, but thought morosely that it wasn't her place. So instead she returned his gaze and was shocked by his unwavering focus on her. It was like his green eyes could pierce through armor as he was staring at her. It was not uncomfortable, however, and that in itself was terribly odd. Ginny simply sat and watched him as he studied her. He then shifted his gaze to her eyes and then did something totally unexpected. He smiled. Not just an uncomfortable smile or a fake smile or a quirky half smile--a _real_ smile. One she hadn't seen in a long time.

"I don't sleep well," Ginny said rather abruptly. "I just--I keep thinking about how everything has changed. It's like the happiness has been sucked out of the air…" And as Ginny struggled to explain her thoughts to Harry (which she wasn't quite sure _why_ she was telling him in the first place) he simply nodded and understood. He understood. He was listening to her. Wow. After talking for awhile about her trouble sleeping she gave him an inquiring look. And with a daring unbeknownst to even her she asked evenly, "So what were _you_ thinking about that kept you up?"

He was staring at the fire when she asked and for a moment she faltered and wondered if he actually heard her. As she began to repeat herself he turned to her and said most calmly, "I was too busy thinking of you."

Ginny almost fell off the couch she was so shocked. He hadn't just said that had he? But he had! He was looking at her most intensely and she seemed to realize she was just staring at him with her mouth open in great surprise. He didn't seem effected by that in the slightest though and just continued looking.

Just as Ginny was about to regain her ability of speech he leaned forward and kissed her. He kissed her right on the mouth, and all thoughts of Tom and writing, any worries or doubts she'd been having flew out of her head. Everything was perfect and right. Life was complete and she felt that she couldn't smile wide enough. She lost herself in his kiss and it seemed to last forever, yet at the same time it seemed to end in a split second. And Ginny sighed in happiness as Harry held her in his arms and spoke softly in her ear everything she'd ever longed to hear.

But the common room faded and all that she could hear was Harry's whispers. "Get up, Ginny," he was saying. "Get up!" Ginny woke with a start to find one of roommates standing over her shaking her awake. She was in the common room, but there was no Harry in sight, and the realization hit her with a force she hadn't known.

"Gin you've got to stop taking those sleep draughts. They mess with your subconscious in your sleep. You were talking about Harry again when I came down here. You're lucky it was me that found you and not _him_," she said half pleading, half scolding. But Ginny had tuned her out mid-rant.

Oh. It was all a dream. Fancy that. And here she'd actually believed that Harry… but he never would. Never. She slowly got up, not feeling rested at all and resolved to make dreamless sleep potions from then on out. The last thing she needed was for him to haunt her dreams too.

**END**

_A/N: Did anyone expect that little twist at the end? Let me know. R/R!_


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